Wearables Expo Winners

Yesterday Plug and Play hosted its very first Wearable EXPO, dedicated to exploring the possibilities of wearable tech. The theme of this first expo was wearable tech related to health and fitness. Check out the video via ABC7 featuring a few of the startups that participated: The EXPO started off with a panel discussion lead […]

Yesterday Plug and Play hosted its very first Wearable EXPO, dedicated to exploring the possibilities of wearable tech. The theme of this first expo was wearable tech related to health and fitness.

Check out the video via ABC7 featuring a few of the startups that participated:

The EXPO started off with a panel discussion lead by Julien Blin from Gizworld and featuring Elaine Fiolet from Ubergizmo, Slipesh Patel from Breathometer, Jason Sage from Jaybird, Monisha Perkash from Lumo BodyTech, and Casper De Clercq from Norwest Venture Partners.

The panel discussed how wearable technology plays a role in helping people maintain a healthy lifestyle, as well as work towards disease prevention.

“We’re giving the body a voice with our sensors and technology. It’s an exciting time to be in this space,” Monisha said right before she demonstrated her Lumo Lift device, which tracks the user’s posture, but doing several different yoga positions.

The panel also touched on how a startup who want to work in the wearable vertical can find success.

“Design is very important for getting adoption in the wearable industry,” Slipesh said.

Jason commented on the future of wearables, saying, “I see us going from wearables to washables, making more environmentally friendly tech.”

One of the biggest topics of the panel, however, was the obstacles facing wearables going forward in health, namely in the areas of data, privacy, and the FDA.

“Are user’s going to trust a company with their data as much as they trust their doctors?” Casper asked. While some agreed that it would be a difficult problem to address, Monisha disagreed, saying, “Wearables aren’t doing anything different than what gyms do. They say if you do these activities, you’ll be healthier.”

After the panel discussion, 25 different wearable startups took the stage to pitch their product to an audience of investors and VCs. After the final pitch took place, the audience voted on the best three. The winners were:

Skulpt: the first handheld consumer device used to measure fat percentage and muscle quality on individual body areas.

ChemiSense: a company trying to tackle the problems of pollution

RxMatch: A medical social network to share progress and find support from others.